Beer pong, or Beirut, is a popular party game, particularly among young people such as college students. Although there are many local variations in the rules of the game, there are several generally shared commonalities. The game is typically played on a conventional ping pong table or a table similar in dimensions to a ping pong table but without the net across the center of the table. The game comprises two teams. The teams have a group of drinking cups, e.g., 16-ounce cups, arranged in a close fitting triangular pattern, similar to racked billiard balls, placed centrally at opposite ends of the table. The cups are filled, or half-filled, with a beverage, typically beer, although malt liquor or other alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages may be substituted therefor.
The purpose of the game is for each team to take turns trying to eliminate the other team's cups by throwing, bouncing, or hitting ping pong balls into the cups. Any cup into which a ping pong ball falls will be taken out of play, and a member of the team whose cup was eliminated typically drinks the beer or other beverage contained in the cup. Depending upon the number of cups remaining, the cups may be rearranged into a diamond configuration or other configuration as cups are eliminated. The objective is to eliminate the opposing team's cups first, and the victor is the team that does so.
Various references describing beer pong and components therefor include U.S. Pat. No. 7,805,959 to Webb et al., U.S. Publication 2004/0188942 to Trokan, and U.S. Publication 2011/0220665 to McDonnell et al.
It is often desirable to play beer pong without liquid in the cups, for example, to prevent spills, splashes, or other messes. However, this poses a problem because the cups are then prone to tipping over when the ping pong ball contacts the cup. Further, the balls often bounce out of the cup after landing therein. There is a need for a beer pong system and components thereof that enable a player to play beer pong without uncontained liquid in the cup but without the associated problems of cup instability or lack of ball retention in the cup.